Broadband divide laid bare as speeds in Stirling are 11th slowest in UK

Broadband speeds in Stirling are the 11th worst in the UK with Perth and Kinross not faring much better with a ranking of 46.

Rural areas of Scotland feature at the bottom of the UK list with the three slowest speeds all found north of the border.

Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP, Murdo Fraser, is calling for this latest league-table of failure to act as a wake-up call to the Scottish Government whose approach so far in connecting hard-to-reach communities has fallen way below what should be expected.

The full table of Scottish broadband speeds are included at the foot of this release.

Commenting Murdo Fraser MSP said:

“There are 387 areas included in this report and unfortunately many Scottish local authorities find themselves at the bottom with Stirling ranked as the 11th worst in the country for broadband speed.

“The new Stirling city deal has just been signed and a key part of this are plans for a digital district to foster economic growth. Ensuring rural and urban Stirlingshire residents have access to fast internet connections will be central to future economic success and it is about time the area had better infrastructure.

“In Perth and Kinross itself there is a similar divide between the services people receive in urban and rural areas. Broadband performance in Perth and Kinross is better than Stirling but is still some way below what we should expect in the 21st century with the area ranking in the bottom half of Scottish Local Authorities.

“It’s time that people across Mid-Scotland and Fife had faster and more reliable internet connections and I would hope that these results help shape the Scottish Government’s next stage Reaching 100% programme.”